Wire feeder for welding

Abstract

A wire conveying mechanism, preferably for a welding, cladding or additive manufacturing apparatus, with a slip clutch mechanism connectable to a motor. Such a wire conveying mechanism may include a wire feeder for feeding an electrode wire in a welding system having a drive roller assembly comprising a plurality of drive rollers to grip the electrode wire and to pull the electrode wire from an electrode wire source toward a conduit and a torque-managing device operatively coupled between a motor and the drive roller assembly, wherein the torque-managing device receives the rotational force from the first motor and regulates the first torque to output a second torque to the drive roller assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A wire feeder for feeding an electrode wire in a welding system, the wire feeder comprising:
 a drive roller assembly, the drive roller assembly comprising a plurality of drive rollers to grip the electrode wire and to pull the electrode wire from an electrode wire source and to push the electrode wire toward a conduit; 
 a first motor to output, via a drive shaft, a rotational force having a first torque; and 
 a mechanical slip clutch having a first moving part mechanically coupled to the drive shaft and a second moving part mechanically coupled to the drive roller assembly,
 wherein the first moving part frictionally engages the second moving part in a push-type friction arrangement via a clutch pad part and a slip surface disc, 
 wherein at least one of the first moving part or the second moving part is configured to rotate freely relative to the drive shaft, and 
 wherein the mechanical slip clutch is configured to receive the rotational force from the drive shaft and to regulate the first torque to output a second torque to the drive roller assembly. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the second moving part is a driving gear that is mechanically coupled to a driven gear of the drive roller assembly, wherein the driven gear is configured to drive the plurality of drive rollers at the second torque. 
     
     
       3. The wire feeder of  claim 2 , wherein the mechanical slip clutch is mechanically integrated with the driving gear of the drive roller assembly. 
     
     
       4. The wire feeder of  claim 3 , wherein the mechanical slip clutch is removably coupled with the drive shaft of the first motor. 
     
     
       5. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the second torque is greater than a feed torque and less than a bird nest torque. 
     
     
       6. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the mechanical slip clutch is removably coupled with the drive shaft of the first motor. 
     
     
       7. The wire feeder of  claim 6 , wherein the mechanical slip clutch is removably coupled with the drive roller assembly via a second drive shaft. 
     
     
       8. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein control circuitry sets an operational speed of the first motor as a function of a measured operational speed of a second motor positioned in a wire feed gun located at a distal end of the conduit. 
     
     
       9. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the electrode wire source is a wire spool. 
     
     
       10. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the first moving part is fixed relative to the drive shaft. 
     
     
       11. The wire feeder of  claim 10 , wherein the second moving part is configured to rotate freely relative to the drive shaft. 
     
     
       12. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the clutch pad part comprises one or more friction pads arranged to face a pressure surface of the slip surface disc. 
     
     
       13. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the wire feeder is a bench-style wire feeder. 
     
     
       14. The wire feeder of  claim 1 , wherein the mechanical slip clutch receives the rotational force from the first motor at a constant speed and regulates the first torque to output a second torque to the drive roller assembly. 
     
     
       15. A wire feeder for feeding an electrode wire in a welding system, the wire feeder comprising:
 a drive roller assembly, the drive roller assembly comprising a driving gear and one or more driven gears, wherein said driving gear transfers rotational movement to said one or more driven gears, each of said one or more driven gears having a hub that is sized and shaped to secure a drive roll to grip the electrode wire and to pull the electrode wire from an electrode wire source toward a conduit; 
 a first motor to generate a rotational force having a first torque; and 
 a slip clutch mechanically coupled to the first motor via a first drive shaft and to the driving gear via a second drive shaft,
 wherein the slip clutch includes a first moving part that is fixed relative to the first drive shaft and a second moving part that is configured to rotate freely relative to the first drive shaft, 
 wherein the first moving part is configured to frictionally engage the second moving part in a push-type friction arrangement via a clutch pad part and a slip surface disc, and 
 wherein the slip clutch is positioned physically between the first motor and the drive roller assembly and is configured to receive the rotational force from the first motor and to regulate the first torque to output a second torque to the driving gear. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The wire feeder of  claim 15 , further comprising control circuitry to set an operational speed of the first motor as a function of a measured operational speed of a second motor positioned in a wire feed gun at a distal end of the conduit. 
     
     
       17. The wire feeder of  claim 15 , wherein the first moving part is mechanically coupled to the first drive shaft and the second moving part is mechanically coupled to the second drive shaft. 
     
     
       18. The wire feeder of  claim 15 , further comprising an operator input device to set an operational speed of the first motor to a desired operational speed in response to an operator input. 
     
     
       19. A wire feeder for feeding an electrode wire in a welding system, the wire feeder comprising:
 a drive roller assembly, the drive roller assembly comprising a driving gear and one or more driven gears, wherein said driving gear transfers rotational movement to said one or more driven gears, each of said one or more driven gears having a hub that is sized and shaped to secure a drive roll to grip the electrode wire and to pull the electrode wire from an electrode wire source toward a conduit; 
 a motor to provide, via a drive shaft, a rotational force having a first torque; and 
 a slip clutch mechanically coupled to the drive shaft and configured to regulate the first torque to output a second torque to the driving gear,
 wherein the slip clutch includes a first moving part that is fixed relative to the drive shaft and a second moving part that is configured to rotate freely relative to the drive shaft, and 
 wherein the first moving part is configured to frictionally engage the second moving part via a clutch pad part and a slip surface disc. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The wire feeder of  claim 19 , wherein the clutch pad part comprises one or more friction pads arranged to face a pressure surface of the slip surface disc. 
     
     
       21. The wire feeder of  claim 19 , wherein the first moving part is configured to frictionally engage the second moving part in a push-type friction arrangement. 
     
     
       22. The wire feeder of  claim 19 , wherein the first moving part is mechanically coupled to the drive shaft and the second moving part is mechanically coupled to the drive roller assembly. 
     
     
       23. The wire feeder of  claim 22 , wherein the second moving part is fixed relative to the driving gear.